Rwanda and South Sudan have boycotted East African Community Inter-Parliamentary games organized and hosted by Uganda.
The two neighbouring did not send through delegates without any explanation why they boycotted the games.
This development comes at a time when the relations between Uganda and the two countries continue to deteriorate.
Addressing journalists at Parliament today ahead of the games slated for 7th-8th December 2019, Gideon Gatpan Thoar, the Chairman of Inter-parliamentary Games said only Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda will be represented at the games.
Thoar said 8 disciplines including football, netball, volleyball, golf netball, and athletics among others will be undertaken.
He said that the games are intended to create collaboration between East African Parliaments and citizens of EAC about importance of the integration.
Asked to respond to whereabouts of the missing team nations, Gatpan said, “We have procedure of engagement and our channel of communication we were expecting everybody to be here but we didn’t receive Rwanda and we are making consultations to know whether they may come to participate in the actual games. We don’t have evidence why they missed. In reality this is what happens, there are two countries that haven’t shown up. EAC should celebrate being together.”
Gatpan also said that they are waiting for final communication from the Clerk, East African Legislative Assembly on whether the two nations will send delegates, further admitting that the snubbing has left the organizers with need to reorganize the games.
“You adjust after finding missing unit. It affects program. We need to determine position of Rwanda availability to play and how many disciplines they are willing to play,” he added.
The latest development comes at the time Rwanda chickened out of a meeting that was slated to take place in Kampala on 18th November 2019 as part of the Luanda peace bill signed between President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame following the closure of the border early this year.
The explosive relations between the two nations were worsened when Rwanda shot dead two Ugandans accusing them of trying to smuggle tobacco into their nation.
Job Ebyarishaga and Bosco Tuhirwe were killed at Tabagwe village in Nyagatare District in Rwanda with the Rwandan Government accusing the duo of smuggling tobacco into their nation, with Rwanda describing the deaths as a pity and that their death should serve as a tough lesson for Ugandans to know that every country has its own rules.
